My laptop crashed this weekend and I consequently lost everything on the hard drive, including my prized iTunes. Now I know why people get so emotional about having their iPod stolen. It takes a lifetime to amass your favorite music, and to have it disappear in one fell swoop is slightly traumatizing. But I’m over it! I will miss my sappy 80s music, though. Here are my lessons learned for avoiding a future wipeout:
(1) if you don’t need it, don’t download it, esp. if you have a similar product already installed. this means you, RealPlayer!
(2) upload your pictures. don’t keep them stashed on your hard drive; burning to a CD takes too much time.
(3) if you must have music on your computer, make a backup CD… *sigh* (but hey, why not turn on an actual boom box, they still make those right?)
(4) stay away from heavy applications such as Microsoft Outlook; like many women, they look pretty but they’re trouble!
(5) don’t confuse your PC: reboot after installing new software, even though this is a major pain.
(6) last but not least, trust only the best and most reputable antivirus and firewall protection! I have a feeling my computer, which was using a freeware program, caught a worm that would have been blocked properly if I had just forked over the 50 bucks to McAfee from the beginning.
***
Update: one last tip, courtesy of my sister Jessie whose laptop also crashed recently.. "I strongly suggest getting an external hard drive…I got one that is 80Gb for like 90 bucks, but hey, it’s worth it to save all the heartache! I don’t even save anything on my computer anymore, it goes straight to the external unless I feel it’s too important, in which case I do make two copies. *knock on wood* "
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 18th, 2005 at 5:15 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
October 18th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
hey jeanine,
sorry to hear about your laptop crashed. I agree…I should do my backup too. Did you just get a new kitty cat? He is so adorable. I love the color. Alright, take care!
October 20th, 2005 at 2:12 pm
Thanks for the advise, I need to back up all pictures and files ASAP. Nice videos
October 21st, 2005 at 6:45 am
sadly, no, that is not my kitten. i sure wish computers came with a kitten as well as a mouse…http://www.dansdata.com/kitten.htm
October 21st, 2005 at 3:32 pm
ha.ha.ha.
October 27th, 2005 at 12:50 am
Thanks for sharing some beautiful pics…great job with the photoshop…I love black and white photos. The garden pics, isn’t it cold over there? The flowers are beautiful…Take care now!
-Thanh
November 5th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
Hey sis,
Hope your computer is all right these days. You can also do what i do. Stop using your computer and use your friends computers. Of course, you have to drive to there house and all.
November 8th, 2005 at 12:26 pm
By the way… He was here at my house. And you know what, he was using my computer…ha.ha…